First time on a plane with 3 Kids

So, first of all I have no pictures since my day was soooooo crazy I did not even think the word camera. Well, incase you did not know we are in Tucson thanking all of our wonderful supporters, but let me tell you how we got here. We left the house at 3:45 to go get Logan from preschool (Yes he had a great day and won a green pencil playing bingo. Does not get much better then that). We head off to Alison's house in Parker. Arrive and hang out for about an hour until Paul comes home. In that hour we give the kids a snack, feed Levi, change diapers, and put everyone in pj's for the late night flight. Paul arrives and we load the three kiddos in the car and head off to the Denver airport which is in the middle of no where. We drive up and the craziness begins. We start to unload. First the double stroller then the two babies. Now we start stacking the luggage on the side. If you have never traveled with three small children they require a lot of stuff. Out come all three cars seats, the pack and play, two check on bags, two carry on bags, the computer, and last the diaper bags. Everyone was looking at us and you could see it in there eyes, "Please don't let them on our flight!" We had to rent one of those carts just to get to the check in counter. Now the lines are formed and people are checking in at the computers, but we need an agent since we have two lap children. The look on her face was not good, she was at the end of the day and we were the last people she wanted to help. Fabulous! So we get checked in two hours early and head to securtiy. Now this was fun. They send Bryan and Logan to one check in and me with the babies to another (Bryan always lucks out). So Bryan and Logan take off their cute shoes and head through the line no problem and go and sit while they wait and wait for us. I in the mean time have to unload the stroller, place each bottle in a seperate container, the formula in a container, take off everyone's shoes (Landon loves his shoes and this did not make him happy), take both babies out and fold the stroller up. The nice gentlemen puts the stroller on the scanner (what was he thinking?) and then relized it would not fit. I then try to go through with the children, but we each have to go through seperately. Might sound easy, right? Wrong. It took a couple of times because Landon wanted to stay with me. So he then melted and on the ground and I got through and then called him through. Poor baby :( I call Bryan to come to the rescue and help. I reload all the stuff back in the diaper bag and start to put on the shoes. The stroller is now getting hand checked. Now we have everyone back in and we are off. We start following the signs to our terminal and for dinner. We then run into the escaltor and we need an elevator. So we start hunting and find one. We get in it and press two for the next level down. We get out and this is a dead end. This elevator does not go to the termals just to the escaltors. You have to be kidding me. We then get back in the elevator and go back up. We find a worker who tells us which elevator to get on. Yes we made it. We get MCD's and feed the children. I then take Logan and Landon to pick out a lolly pop to have on the plane for their ears. Bryan cleans the table and comes to meet us. All he had was Levi and his little bag. While we are 35 minutes until we leave so we quickly head to terminal 34. I go to check the tickets and ask Bryan for them. He hands Levi over and starts looking in his pockets. Yes looking! I am kind of glaring at him thinking, "oh no he didn't". Yes he did. He says, "I know I picked them off the table." I reply, "You didn't throw them in the trash?" Off runs Bryan and leaves me with the 3 kids waiting. About 10 minutes later I see him come back. He hands me the tickets and they were a little wet. YUK and sign they were in trash. Well at least he found them. So we very quickly get to gat 34 and are there for 2 minutes before we board. We get to board early with the kids or so they say. As soon as we reach the gate in comes everyone else. We fold down the stoller and get everything and everyone in. We are finally seated yet not together because of how many kids is not the same as how many oxygen mask. Not good. Bryan takes Landon and I take Logan and Levi. We get buckled up and Logan is excited. He pretty much did not stop talking the entire time. The babies were great and did not cry. What a blessing. The ride was pretty bumpy due to a storm and we finally landed. We wait and are the last off the plane. We then wait for the stroller which took forever. We meet Gigi and Papa and get the luggage and the car seats. Head for the car. Now our stroller is so big it does not fit so Papa straps it on top of the car while Bryan load the three cars seats in and I get the luggage. We head home and put our very tired heads on the bed 8 hours later. Yes with all of that we only saved 4 hours. Worth it? I am not sure. I will let you know after the flight back. So if you think of it pray for us on September 9th and as we travel back.

R&R in Durango

Well camp is over and we went to Durango for some much needed family time. As many of you may know Durango is a place where I (Erin) vacationed as a kid. So I was very much looking forward to taking my kids where I played, fished, and had lots of great memories. So Bryan and I packed up the car and headed to meet Gramma Jeanne and Poppies at Lake Valecito. After a six hour drive we arrived and Logan could hardly stand himself so Bryan had to take him to the lake and go fishing right away.

The next day we went on Gramma Jeanne's quad. Very fun. Logan loved it, Landon thought he liked it (but was not so sure) and Levi loved watching! We also loved walking down to the playground and playing. Gramma Jeanne and I learned a great lesson while at the playground. We were on the teeter-totter with Landon and Logan. If you have ever seen my mom you would know that most kids weigh more then her. Well, I should of thought of that because my mom and Landon went straight up in the air. It took everything in me to get her down. She got far enough down to let Landon off. Then Logan went to the rescue. We told him to try to get Gramma Jeanne's leg when she came down. He tried, but missed. Then he kept trying and jumped into the air and grabbed Gramma Jeanne's leg and hung on for dear life. I at that point started laughing so hard I couldn't do anything. None the less Gramma Jeanne and I did not return to the teeter-totter again!

Saturday spent some time fishing with no luck and then returned back to the cabin and waited for the Mariens to join us and they did. Now all the cousins were together and the fun was just beginning. We went out on the lake and fishing again. This time Logan caught his first fish! What a kid.

Thank you Poppies and Gramma Jeanne for a great time in Durango and for great memories! We love you!


Fun on the Quad






Good times on the lake!

My First Fish!

Thank You 2008 Eagle's Nest Staff!

Camp is over and we had an awesome summer! In order to have an awesome summer you have to have a great staff and we did. Thank you so much to Jon Paul, Kristin, Bruce, Laura, John, Melissa, Jacob, Kelsey, and Monique.

Jon Paul thank you for your dedication to Eagle's Nest the past three summers. It has been great to see you grow in your walk with Christ. I can't wait to see what God does with you. Also Thank you for being such a good friend to Drew. He looks up to you and you have been a great example of Christ's love. We will never forget you Jon Paul.

Kristin our Tucson friend! You are a true gem. I loved being able to get to know you better this year. Thank you for taking on the role of PC. You don't always get to work directly with the kids, but camp would not run as smooth without you. I loved watching you grow not only in your walk, but in your confidence. You are amazing and will be a great teacher. Thank you for giving two summers to Eagle's Nest.

Bruce. I have never met anyone like you. I just love you to pieces. You always make me smile and laugh. Your heart is a true heart of God. You have always amazed me with your maturity in your walk with Christ at such a young age. Never loose your zeal for life and kids. Thank you for investing in Eagles Nest for the past two years. We love ya Bruce!!!

Laura! I just love you. You remind me (Erin) so much of myself at your age. You have such a sweet spirit and give so much of yourself to others. Don't ever loose that even when it seems people don't appreciate it because God always notices!!! Thank you for being there for the kids at Eagle's Nest for a second year. We love you Laura. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

John our southern friend. It was so great getting to know you. You are always so polite and respectful. I love that about you. Thank you for giving your time to the kids of Eagle's Nest this summer. Camp would not have been the same without you. You made a great member of the team. I don't think I ever heard you say one negative thing. What a great encourager you are. You are awesome.

Melissa. You are such a sweet heart. You always had a smile on your face and willing to help in anyway you could. I loved that willingness to be wherever you are needed. That is rare. God will continue to use you in great ways because you are willing to go and do anything for Him! Thank you for giving your summer to Eagle's Nest. We love you Melissa!

Jacob. You have a passion for Christ and for kids and that is obvious in everything you do. I pray that you never loose that and that you continue to grow in Christ. Thank you for putting your heart and soul into the kids at Eagle's Nest this summer and into my kids. We will miss you Jacob and can't wait to see where God takes you next.

Kelsey. You are one of a kind and we love that about you! You love people and that shows. You are always smiling and lifting the spirits of everyone around you. I pray that you continue to follow God's calling on your life. Remember to take time to listen to God and live just in the moment that He is giving you! Thank you for being part of the team this summer and know that you are loved at Eagle's Nest.

Monique! What a blessing you were to us this summer. It was so amazing to have a volunteer EMT. Just the security we felt having you at camp to be there for kids was awesome. You are an amazing person. I can't imagine camp this summer without you. You not only blessed all the kids at camp, you also blessed our family. Thank you so much for loving Logan, Landon, and Levi. We will never forget your genoursity. We love you Monique.

As you can tell we had an amazing staff and we will miss all you! Pray for this staff and where God will take them next.

Surviving the Bus

If you have ever been on a bus with 50 kids you know you will do just about anything to survive the bus ride. Well, Bryan and the counselors do just that. They sing, play games, and yes make fools of themselves. Here are some great bus pics of the summer.

Logan's Race Car Room/Fun in the Sun

Over the past week or so I (Erin) have been working on painting Logan's room. He decided on race cars. I was able to work on it for most of the day today because Bryan was home and was able to watch the kids. Yes, I chose the hottest day yet (and we do not have a/c), so while I was in the hot house slaving away Bryan and the boys spent the day outside playing in the water. Way more fun! Here are some pics (and a video) of Logan's room and fun in the sun!

Mr. Biggs

This last week we had Savannah at our home for 3 nights. Logan was very exicited due to the fact that this is an old Tucson friend. Savannah came up with her Mimi and Papa to Eagle Lake to visit Uncle Mark and Aunt Jen. Since she was here for 2 weeks we all decided it would be fun for Savannah and Logan to get to hang out. We mainly just stayed at home, but were able to go to a new center just 3 minutes from our house called Little Mr. Biggs (a toddler/preschool version of the normal Mr. Biggs). We had lots of fun playing in the giant sandbox, dressing up, jumping in the jumping castle, and much more. What a great deal. Play all day for just $5.00.